Courtesy The Daily Mirror

Those who traditionally voted for the UNP should decide whether they are going to destroy the party or not at this election, UNP Leader and former Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said yesterday.

Speaking during an election rally, Mr. Wickremesinghe said Tuesday’s Appeal Court decision to reject the petition filed by Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) against the UNP decision to suspend those members who joined SJB to contest the general election, was an indication that those contesting under the elephant symbol were the real UNPers..

The Appeal Court decision had made it clear that those who are contesting under the elephant are the real UNPers. It has also made it clear that the SJB is another party. Therefore those who have been traditionally voting for the UNP should decide whether they are going to vote for the elephant at this election and safeguard the elephant and the UNP or whether they are going to vote for another party and destroy it,” Mr. Wickremesinghe said.

The UNP was founded by the late D. S. Senanayake who chose elephant as its symbol. He also founded the Gal Oya project. The UNP and Gal Oya go together. Therefore I appeal to everyone to vote for the elephant symbol,” he added.

Mr. Wickremesinghe said his party had joined the fray with a proper set of plans to steer the nation forward by defeating the crisis brought on by COVID-19.

We have come up with a plan to change the vicious trade cycle where consumers have to pay a high price for the food crops while the farmers are exploited. We have come up with a plan to export food crops. There will be 500 million mouths to feed in the Asian region by 2050. We are going to make use of it. A UNP government will also focus on de-silting tanks and allocating funds to grow in small lands. We will give a monthly payment of Rs 10,000 to everyone who loses jobs due to the COVID-19 crisis. We will also get the apparel industrialists to produce face masks for school children,” he said. (Yohan Perera)